incubate
[in-kyuh-beyt, ing-]
- to sit upon (eggs) for the purpose of hatching.
- to hatch (eggs), as by sitting upon them or by artificial heat.
- to maintain at a favorable temperature and in other conditions promoting development, as cultures of bacteria or prematurely born infants.
- to develop or produce as if by hatching; give form to: His brain was incubating schemes for raising money.
Show More
- to sit upon eggs.
- to undergo incubation.
- to develop; grow; take form: A plan was slowly incubating in her mind.
Show More
Origin of incubate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for incubate
Contemporary Examples
They employ and fund researchers, incubate and test new technologies relating to energy storage, production and carbon capture.
Texas may be a testing ground, but it is in Silicon Valley that ideas germinate and incubate.
Koch helped kill one species of Democratic politics and incubate another.
In another study, “one man reported that he felt compelled to incubate and help hatch out a clutch of bantam chickens.”
Historical Examples
There are also American cuckoos that build their own nest and incubate their own eggs.
Birds in the CalendarFrederick G. Aflalo
Pour plates from the agar tubes; label, and incubate at 37° C.
The Elements of Bacteriological TechniqueJohn William Henry Eyre
Incubate the cultivations and examine carefully from day to day.
The Elements of Bacteriological TechniqueJohn William Henry Eyre
Earwigs lay their eggs, and then incubate them after the manner of the hen.
The Dawn of ReasonJames Weir
These are covered with sand or leaves, and left for the sun to incubate.
Animal Life of the British IslesEdward Step
incubate
- (of birds) to supply (eggs) with heat for their development, esp by sitting on them
- to cause (eggs, embryos, bacteria, etc) to develop, esp in an incubator or culture medium
- (intr) (of eggs, embryos, bacteria, etc) to develop in favourable conditions, esp in an incubator
- (intr) (of disease germs) to remain inactive in an animal or human before causing disease
- to develop or cause to develop gradually; foment or be fomented
Show More
Word Origin
C18: from Latin incubāre to lie upon, hatch, from in- ² + cubāre to lie down
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for incubate
v.
1640s, "to brood upon, watch jealously" (which also was a figurative sense of Latin incubare); 1721 as "to sit on eggs to hatch them," from Latin incubatus, past participle of incubare "to lie in or upon" (see incubation). Related: Incubated; incubating.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
incubate
(ĭn′kyə-bāt′, ĭng′-)- To maintain eggs, organisms, or living tissue at optimal environmental conditions for growth and development.
- To maintain a chemical or biochemical system under specific conditions in order to promote a particular reaction.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
incubation
[ĭn′kyə-bā′shən]
- The act of warming eggs in order to hatch them, as by a bird sitting upon a clutch of eggs in a nest.
- The act of keeping an organism, a cell, or cell culture in conditions favorable for growth and development.
- The maintenance of an infant, especially one that is ill or born before the usual gestation period, in an environment of controlled temperature, humidity, and oxygen concentration in order to provide optimal conditions for growth and development.
- The development of an infection from the time the pathogen enters the body until signs or symptoms first appear.
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.